What do you think of the act of "lying"?
I think it is a tool.. One that usually isn't respected, and thus often used for things that become ill-conceived. It is a powerful tool, and I think people use it like it is a squirt gun in life instead of respecting it as a handgun.
What would you consider a white/black lie. How severe is 'okay'?
White lie - Something that doesn't effect the person one way or the other. Examples to illustrate my point:
1. You need to get off of work.. people's priorities are different for everyone, so even though your dog's wedding to your neighbor's dog was a huge year-long process with dowry's, decorating preparations, and 7 hours of creating a doggie-treat wedding cake.. your boss may not see the importance of it. "I am sick :c No work for meee" could totally substitute without hurting your Boss. These are sketchy though, if you use them too much you run the risk of being caught/not believed.
2. The sympathetic lies.. You usually see these on TV shows. A girl is devastated her boyfriend was killed tragically... the cops conveniently leave out that he died in bed with a tranny hooker snorting coke from her ass cheeks and instead say, "He seemed to love you very much.." Her heart heals a bit faster as a result, and the dead dude is..well.. dead.. so the lie can't hurt him.
3. The "I can't illustrate what is going on in my head" lie. You're playing Dungeons and Dragons, a single dude recently becoming a knight. A woman, a key woman to your storyline, has a dowry on her head the size of your ego and you need her anyways.. so you flirt with her to get her to come over to you. IRL, this is an actual single girl playing in your party that you have no interest in, and you are a married dude. When you go home that night, you slip up and mention the situation--only you save it by saying one of the OTHER dudes did this instead of you. An angry, potentially jealous wife situation is avoided, but you still got to tell her the funny situation.
Black lie -- Anything that negatively affects the other party (i.e. "Your boyfriend called you a cunt the other day infront of his friends!!" and it isn't true..) OR there is a chance that the lie, whatever it is, would be exposed (i.e. you tell your boss you're sick, then post your pictures of the Nick's game you went to that evening.. Boss is your friend on FB.).
Do you find lying cowardly? Are there benefits to lying? is it necessary for survival?
It is absolutely cowardly.. but survival isn't about always being brave. Plenty of things in the natural world survive via cowardly acts. We're not all honey badgers. There are immediate benefits to lying, but if it affects the other party or yourself in any way (i.e. 90% of the time...) these benefits are temporary at best and the bigger the lie, the harder it is to maintain it. Oh and lies have a snowball effect that starts super quick. I think it is necessary for survival.. But keep in mind that I think most people are way above the "survival" stage of life right now. They're more in the "I can have this.. I want this.." stage.
Does anyone firmly believe in the saying that " The Truth Will Set You Free" ?
I absolutely do.
